Toe-cap for boots or shoes



I (No Model.) I

' A. SHAVER.

TOE GAP FOR BOOTSUR $HOES.

No. 559,311. V Patentedlkpr. 28, L896.

\A/ITNEESEEI INVENTDHE amba W- ATENT rricn.

AUGUSTUS SEAVER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOE-CAP FOR BOOTS ORSHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0.. 559,3l1, dated April28, 1896. Application filed September 14,1895. Serial No. 562,540. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS SEAVER, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusettsfliave invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Toe-Caps for Boots or Shoes, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to boot and shoe toecaps having permanentlyglossy facings, such as are produced by the application of japan orenamel to the leather body of the toe-cap. Heretofore' such facings havealways been applied to the leather body while the latter is flat andafterward shaped by the operation of lasting or incorporating theleather body into the boot or shoe. The nature of said facing is such,however, that the tension to which it is subjected by the operation ofbonding and stretching the leather body is liable to crack the facingand thusgreatly injure its appearance. The cracks are not always formedwhen the leather body is first shaped or lasted, but often appearsubsequently. They are especially liable to appear on an abruptly-curvedportion of the facing, such as that formed by applying the leather bodyto a last having a pointed toe. This liability of the glossy facing tocrack is a source of great difficulty, annoyance,and expense, oftenresulting in the return of the goods to the manufacturer and requiringmuch expenditure of time and labor in repairing or renewing the facing.

My invention has for its object to overcome this difficulty and toprovide for the use of shoe manufacturers a toe-cap ready forincorporation into a boot or shoe and having a glossy toe-facing, which,While possessing the usual characteristics of an ordinary patentleatherfacing as to permanent gloss and resistance to water, is free fromtensile or cracking strain, and can be relied upon to stand in a boot orshoe Without cracking, even at the abrupt curves of pointed toes, adesideratum which has never before been attained.

The invention consists in a toe-cap comprising a lasted body having aflange for attachment to a boot or shoe and a toe-facing of japan orenamel deposited or modeled in toe-cap shape While in a plasticcondition and subsequently hardened to make said shape permanent, saidfacing being waterproof and characterized by freedom from crackingstrain.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a toe-facing embodying myinvention, and Fig. 2 represents a sectional view of the same.

In carrying out my invention I take a leather body I) that has beenpreviously lasted or shaped to conform to the shape of the toe portionof a last, so that it requires no further stretching or fitting inincorporating it into a boot or shoe, and deposit or model thereon apermanently glossy waterproof facing c, composed of japan or any othersuitable preparation or composition, said facing being applied in aliquid or plastic state to the body I) and then completed or hardened bythe application of heat. The characteristics of the facing as topermanent gloss and resistance to water are the same as those of thecoating or facing of ordinary patent-leather; but, unlike the ordinarypatent-leather toe-facing found in a boot or shoe, it is furthercharacterized by an entire freedom from cracking strain Whenincorporated into the boot or shoe. It will be seen that the facingformed or modeled while in a soft or plastic condition and subsequentlyset or hardened is not only free from cracking strain, but is firmly setor fixed in the desired form. The toe-cap may, therefore, be kept instock by the manufacturer ready for application to a boot or shoe, andwhen applied the facing may be relied upon to retain both itspredetermined form and its continuity without liability of cracking andlosing its waterproof character. The leather body I) is provided with aflange or lip extending along its lower edge below the exposed portionof the facing for attachment to a boot or shoe. The said body is hereshown as internally reinforced by a layer a of buckram or otherstiffening material.

I claim- As an article of manufacture a toe-cap comprising a lasted bodyhaving a flange for attachment to a boot or shoe, and a modeled facingcomposed of a material or composition formed 011 said body While in aplastic contwo subscribing witnesses, this 7th day of Sepdition andsubsequently hardened, said. fatember, A. D. 1895.

eing being characterized by a permanently glossy Waterproof surface,free from crack- AUGUSTUS SEAVER.

ing strain. Witnesses:

In testimony whereof I have signed my A. D. HARRISON, name to thisspecification, in the presence of V. P. ABELL.

